Directed by:Â William Kaufman
Written by:Â William Kaufman, Paul Reichelt
Starring: Max Martini, Linda Hamilton, Brianna Hildebrand
Year: 2025
Country:Â US
Running time:Â 105mins
BBFC Classification: 15
During a covert mission a team of Special Forces commandos, who are under heavy fire, are suddenly distracted by what appears to be an alien spacecraft appearing above them. Swiftly abducted, they wake up on said spacecraft and soon discover they are now prey, to be hunted by a ruthless alien race.
On its simple human soldiers vs alien soldiers in the bowels of a large spacecraft concept, Osiris is some straightforward fun, action soaked sci-fi. Coming from William Kaufman the action is front and centre here, and it’s fun to see human and aliens engage in tactical gunplay as they try to hunt one another down. Kaufman has helmed some of the better lower budget action films of recent times the likes of Sinner & Saints (Bad Cop here in the UK), Daylight’s End, and The Channel showcasing his talent for some of the best tactical based action (his The Marine 4: Moving Target is still one of the best run-and-gun action films released straight to DVD!).
Here he applies his brand of action to a sci-fi setting and that’s what makes Osiris so much fun. All shot practically on impressive sets the film feels a little like a throwback to 90s actioners, not least in the impressive use of practical suits for the aliens. The effects are great and it’s fun watching dudes in rubber suits running around with assault rifles picking off the humans. The grunts are the typical mix of either overly serious or mouthy though Max Martini (The Channel, Pacific Rim) does tough and gruff with aplomb. Brianna Hildebrand (Deadpool) really shines as a bad-ass soldier the group find on the ship and also great to see Linda Hamilton pop up, in what is essentially an extended cameo.
The visuals are slick (the flick has a cool dark future vibe), Kaufman wrings some welcome tension out of proceedings, and there is a great opening sequence following the Jupiter 1 satellite as it makes its way through the galaxy. But action is the name of the game here and its quality stuff, Kaufman and his crew squeezing creative energy out of the multiple humans vs aliens firefights. The more serious cinephile may not get a lot out of it, and comparisons to the classic Predator are inevitable, but for us action/sci-fi fans there is a lot of slick fun here. Great to see Kaufman applying his style/knack for action to sci-fi and Osiris is a good introduction to his films if one has not yet checked them out.
Good fun.
Osiris is available on Digital Platforms 28 July and on DVD & Blu-ray 1 September. Distributed by Signature Entertainment.
